The red lever is a primer solenoid. It’s activated by pushing in the ignition switch at cold start up. It can be moved to always on for troubleshooting but should remain in the full automatic position for normal use. It is not designed for carburetor tuning. Your port motor runs nice! Good luck with everything and thanks for posting.
Hi mate ,have you found your problem? If not try to replace thé small blue fitting on thé bottom of your engine ,i had exactly thé same thing on mine and that was this blue thing blocked😉
I’m purchasing a boat with a 2005 Johnson 115hp V4 engine. Do you know if they have the same problems? Do you have any advice for maintenance and what to look out for with that engine? Thanks
Hi Rich. Unfortunately all of OMC's modern outboards (Johnson, Evinrude, etc.) use plastic carbs and fuel components. My advise for pre-purchase inspection is to look at the mating surfaces between the plastic component like where the bowl mates to the carb body. That's where they tend to warp. Take feeler gauges with you and if you can get any of them between the gaps you'll have a problem. You can also check for vacuum leaks by spraying starter fluid around the carbs and fuel system while it's running. if you hear the engine rev up when you do then it's sucking in air. I would also check to see if the VMO has has been deleted. If not I would replace it with a suitable fuel pump and pre-mix your 2-cycle oil. Best of luck to you and feel free to hit me up if you find yourself doing repairs and need advise. I'm happy to help.
There is some truth to that when it comes to lawn equipment, dirt bikes and even road vehicles because they operate in a dirty environment. But it's just not true of outboard motors that operate in a clean environment. Outboards don't even use air filters. They are designed to suck in air totally unfiltered.